On a monthly basis, New Orleans area hotels had the ninth highest occupancy rate in March among the top 25 markets, according to Smith Travel Research.

The 71.2 percent rate was up from 71 percent from February and from 62.5 percent compared with the same month a year ago.

New York had the highest rate at 81.4 percent, while the Norfolk-Virginia Beach, Va., area had the lowest at 46.8 percent.

Meanwhile, rooms in New Orleans were the fifth most expensive at an average of $128.37 a night, up from $128.20 in February and from $115.85 during the same month a year ago. The New York area was the most expensive at $194.53, while Detroit had the lowest average nightly rate at $74.08.

The national occupancy rate was 57.9 percent, up from 53 percent in February and from 54.7 percent in March 2009. The average nightly room rate was $97.90, up from $96.40 in February but down from $99.89 in March 2009.

The New Orleans area includes Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John and St. Tammany parishes.â€¢